Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1887-07-28


Stone to State
Prohibition.
The Chicago Tribune.1
| ATLANTA, Ga, July 21.-The Georgi,
local option law, whereunder Fultor
county, (which includes Atlanta) heli
the election which resulted in prohibition
provides that after prohibition has beer
carried in any county no after election
on the subject shall be held within two
years. A year and half has now passed
since the election was held here, and in
six months of course another election
may be held. Moreover, the law has
now been in operation year and one
half the necessary period. A sort OF
mile-post in the prohibition experiment
has therefore now just been reached, and
the subject which has for two or three
years at all times been prominent is fol
this reason, now a little more prominent
than usual. Each side is reviewing the
year under prohibition. There is greater
significance to this because the success OF
the failure Of the experiment in Atlanta
will very largely determine the success o,
failure of the whole state experiment, SO
far as it has gone. There is the same
conflicting testimony here as to the value
Of the law that there is in every other
city that has tried prohibition, but there
is not the least doubt but that the prohi-
bition side has gained popular strength,
and gained greatly, since it won the day
by narrow margin year and half
ago. One reason that it has gained
strength is because to a certain degree
the prohibitionists are SO strong, and they
hold in their hands cards so politically
packed that the politicians are afraid to
oppose the cause openly. The work has
been carried beyond that point which the
prohibitionists in most places reached
and stopped-the point where member
ship in the party was in the more worldly
circles of society evidence of former ine-
brity, Of quakery, or crankism.
PROHIBITION HERE IS RESPECTABLE.
The solid business men of this city
many of whom, by the way, take their
grog-are generally strongly in favor of
the continuance of the law for a variety
of reasons. Some maintain that the bus
mess of the city has been made better.
This, of course, is vigorously denied by
others. Some will say that while men
will and ought to drink liquor, and who
are not at bottom in favor of cast iron
prohibitory law for the whole country,
have become convinced that the closing
of the low groggeries is so excellent a
thing that they are willing to sacrafice
what they once regarded as their objec-
ton to ''sumptuary legislation" for the
practical good. There is very great
probability that an election, like the
forthcoming Texas election, or on a law
like the Maine law, would be very vigor-
ously opposed in Atlanta. The local OPP
ton method of trying prohibition by
counties and for limited period of time
has won as its friends men whom a
sweeping and perpetual law could never
win. For this reason the Georgia plan"
is unique. For instance, national pro-
hibition ticket in 1883 will not get any
thing like as many votes in Georgia as
the local option cause has got here. The
state will still be Democratic. 1t is not
that kind of prohibition. But the pur-
pose of the speculation that now engages
attention is as to the future of the local
prohibition in this country and in
Georgia. Unless all signs fail, the chan
ces are decidedly in favor of the contin-
uance of the law, at least for some time
to come, over great part of the state.
1t has been accurately described as
RICH MANS LAW;
directed against the poor man. At least
this is true from one point of view. A
''rich'' man in a prohibition county can
get grog; in some he can buy it by the
quart without any trouble. But the poor
man who can only afford to buy it by the
drink 10 the man who is generally left"
The effort has been made to arouse SYM
pathy for the poor grog drinker. But it
has not been as successful as it was ex-
pected to be. There are coming county
battles to be fought, but the chances id
most of them are decidedly in favor of
the prohibitionists. The Weekly Con-
stitutlon, the daily of which has been, if
not hostile, certainly not friendly in
partisan way to prohibition, has caused
something Of q sensation throughout the
state by long review of the year under
the law, which concludes with the con.
fession that "our experience has demon
strsted to us beyond doubt that city
of 90, 600 inhabitants can get along and
advance at solid and constant gait with
out the liquor traffic" Throughout the
state the status of prohibition now IS as
follows:
One hundred and fifteen out of 1877
counties are under prohibition. Among
those that are not in Chatham county, in
which Savanna is situated. There are
eighteen counties, mostly in the south
east portion of the state, where prOhibi-
ti0n il secured by the local authorities